Coalition plans to localise town hall audit arrangements will not deliver savings and risk undermining 150 years of financial accountability, a group of senior MPs warn today.
A Commons select committee studying the draft Local Audit Bill has cast doubt on Government claims that £137m could be saved annually under ministers? new streamlined arrangements for the sector. Communities secretary Eric Pickles has claimed that £650m could be saved from the public purse over five years.
In a report published today, the MPs reveal they are unsure about the purported savings to be realised from the abolition of the Audit Commission, and urge ministers to publish a revised financial impact assessment alongside their eventual Bill.
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Hmmmmm – Too little challenge too late – the AC closed for housing matters in early 2010 and then all auditors of LAs and health who survived went under compulsory transfer to the big firms in 2011, whose aim is to make a profit!